26 February 2016

If you went down hard, there is no other way but up. That seemed to have been Jared Dillinger’s mentality in Meralco Bolts chances as he became the second Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the Oppo-PBA Commissioner's Cup. Dillinger was crucial in helping the Meralco Bolts stay on top of the standings with an unblemished 4-0 record.

The left-handed guard-forward emerged as one of the most consistent players for the Bolts in the midseason conference after averaging 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the team's sweep of its two games this past week.

Meralco survived the all-Filipino Rain or Shine crew down the stretch after leading as many as 26 points last 17 February (98-95), before nipping newcomer Phoenix, 90-89, on 21 February behind Dillinger’s three-pointer and rookie Chris Newsome’s clutch free throw down the stretch.

"We were one of the first teams to take the exit in the previous conference so we had time to build on our chemistry and get better," Dillinger said after besting the likes of Ginebra’s Greg Slaughter, GlobalPort guard Terrence Romeo, along with Blackwater gunners Carlo Lastimosa and Reil Cervantes for the citation for the period covering February 16-21.

Dillinger said the Bolts practically "lived in the gym" during the conference break as they strive to bounce back in the import-flavored conference following an embarrassing 1-10 win-loss campaign during the Philippine Cup.

"It's (Commissioner’s Cup) obviously different from the last conference," shared the 32-year-old Meralco Fil-Am guard/forward. "“If you come from a disappointing season, you have to reflect not only as a team but individually as well."

After winning five league championships during his first five seasons as a pro with Talk ‘N Text, Dillinger was traded to sister team Meralco in June 2013. He has taken upon himself to lead the Meralco franchise, which has yet to win a PBA championship since joining the league in 2010.

"That’s great, we're four-and-0, but then, we'll throw that off come playoff time," he said. "Definitely, it’s a process so we just need to keep building on these type of games."

Meralco takes a week off before returning to action on 28 February against GlobalPort where the Bolts will be looking to match the best start in franchise history.

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PBA Advisory

2017 Commissioner's Cup Format

The tournament allows teams to hire foreign players or imports with a height limit of 6-foot-10.

The top 2 teams will earn twice-to-beat edges over Nos. 7 and 8 while the No. 3 against No. 6 and No. 4 versus No. 5 pairing will be a best-of-three affair in the quarterfinals.

The semifinal stage will have a pair of best-of-five matches and the finals will be a race-to-four affair.

Gilas Pilipinas

Manila will host one of the three tournaments in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The Philippine national men’s basketball team will try to pull off massive upsets against France, New Zealand, Canada, Turkey and Senegal in the competition slated on July 5 to July 10 at Mall of Asia Arena.

A total of 18 teams will participate in the three-nation event whose champions will book tickets to the 2016 Rio Olympics.